Sept. 4 (Bloomberg) -- For about $140,000 up front, members
of the Napa Valley Reserve get a chance to pluck Cabernet
clusters at daybreak, ferment them under the eyes of experts
from cult winery Harlan Estate and receive as many as 900
bottles of wine a year.

For Illinois Republican gubernatorial nominee Bruce Rauner,
membership also came with a free case of political blowback.

Rauner’s participation in Napa Valley Reserve is the center
of a vintage Illinois political dust-up. His opponent, incumbent
Democratic Governor Pat Quinn, accused the billionaire of living
the high life even as he sought to lower minimum wages. Quinn’s
campaign yesterday posted a scathing ad on YouTube.

“Bruce Rauner spends more on wine than average Illinois
households spend on everything,” reads the caption of the ad,
which showed a hand emptying a bottle of red into an overflowing
glass.

Per capita consumption of wine of all prices has gone up in
America in each of the past 20 years, said Tyler Colman, who
earned a doctorate in political science at Northwestern
University and writes the popular wine blog “Dr. Vino.” Still,
the image of a wealthy politician sipping an exclusive label can
foster a sense of detachment from mainstream America, he said.

Political Kryptonite

“It does seem to be kryptonite for politicians, who should
be seen hoisting a beer at the county fair,” Colman said.
“Wine in America is still associated with a certain
lifestyle.”

The club declined to comment for this story, beyond saying
that the deposit is refundable when members leave. The cost of
entry is as much as $140,000, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The 500 couples who are members of the St. Helena,
California-based club can visit the winery, take classes in and
take part in winemaking, according to the club’s website. They
can also choose tiers of membership that allow them to take home
from six to 75 cases of wine, which isn’t sold on the open
market, each year.

The club is the brainchild of William Harlan, whose own
recent Harlan Estate vintages are currently selling for up to
$1,000 a bottle in stores. For wine enthusiasts with expensive
taste who enjoy entertaining, the cost of membership can
actually pencil out to a savings, at least relative to pricey
retail bottles.

Members Only

Rauner’s oenophilia entered the national conversation over
the weekend, when the Chicago Tribune ran what it identified as
a 2010 photograph of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel -- a prominent
Democrat who was at the time President Barack Obama’s chief of
staff -- walking alongside Rauner while holding a bottle of Napa
Valley Reserve’s members-only wine.

Emanuel isn’t a member, said Kelley Quinn, a spokeswoman
for the mayor. “It was not his bottle of wine,” Quinn added.

Rauner’s campaign confirmed his participation. “Bruce’s
membership in Napa Valley Reserve is part of a number of
investments in real estate, wineries and vineyards that he has
made in the area,” it said in a statement yesterday.

The exclusive club highlights how the wine industry blends
agriculture and tourism. Many visiting the Napa Valley are no
longer content sipping a chardonnay at the dinner table. They
long to be a part of the wine-making process, from picking the
grapes to selecting the wooden barrels.

‘Private Label’

“There’s a great sense of accomplishment,” says the
club’s website, “in producing a barrel of world-class wine and
having it bottled under your own private label.”

Harlan, who also owns the posh Meadowood country resort in
St. Helena, founded the club more than a decade ago several
miles from his Harlan Estate vineyards. Today, members come from
37 states and 11 countries, according to the club’s website.

Daryl Bristow, a Texas lawyer who helped George W. Bush
secure his 2000 election in Florida, remembers precisely what
prompted him to pay $120,000 to join the club back in 1999 when
he met Harlan through a mutual friend.

Bristow had visited California wine country several times,
including a visit to the famous Napa Valley Wine Auction, and
dreamed of owning his own vineyard there. Joining the club gave
him a chance to take a hand in growing wine grapes and producing
wine without overburdening his busy schedule, a main perk for
members.

“I wanted to make Napa a part of our lives,” Bristow
said.

Picking Grapes

The club hosts events through the year, including a spring
party when the vines begin to flower, a summer bottling
demonstration and a harvest celebration in the fall, according
to the site.

Bristow, who left the club in 2009, said he enjoyed picking
grapes off the vines and separating them on a conveyor, as well
as socializing with the other guests. He recalled a club member
who worked in the music industry hosting a country concert on
the vineyard.

“It is extremely good wine,” Bristow said. “If you want
to be part of the winemaking experience without worrying about
the weather and the birds and the disease, this is it.”